"Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan"
By Charles Morse
web posted February 11, 2002
So declared Dr. Kadri Toukan, a former Jordanian Foreign
Minister on December 9, 1970. Anwar Nusseibi, a Former
Jordanian Defense Minister, on October 3, 1970 stated "The
Jordanians are also Palestinians. This is one State. This is one
people. The name is not important. The families living in Salt,
Irbid, and Karak maintain not only family and matrimonial ties
with the families in Nablus and Hebron, they are one people."
Ahmad Shuqairy, the first President of the PLO told the
Palestine National Council, May 1965, that " Our Jordanian
brothers are actually Palestinians."
There are, in fact, two Palestinian States in existence by any
definition. One is called Israel, the other is called Jordan. One
was established by Palestinian Jews who called themselves
Israeli, the other by Palestinian Arabs who called themselves
Jordanian. Like the Palestinian Jews of Israel, the Palestinian
Arabs of Jordan enjoy full national, political and cultural rights.
"Palestine" is the name the British gave to the Ottoman Turkish
region formerly known as south Syria when they established a
Mandate in 1919 on both banks of the Jordan River after the
retreat of Turkey at the end of World War I. Three years later,
in 1921, the British divided the mandate along the Jordan River
in order to give the east bank to the Hashemite King Abdallah as
a reward for his support during the war.
The following is excerpted from a speech, delivered by Yosef
Tekoah, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. November 13, 1974.
These comments precisely describe the status of the two
Palestines:
"No nation has enjoyed greater fulfillment of its political rights, no
nation has been endowed with territory, sovereignty and
independence more abundantly, then the Arabs. Of common
language, culture, religion and origin, the Arab nation stormed
out of its birthland in the seventh century and conquered one
people after another until its rule encompassed the entire Arab
peninsula, the Fertile Crescent and North Africa. As a result of
centuries of acquisition of territory by war, the Arab nation is
represented in the United Nations by twenty sovereign States.
Among them is also the Palestinian Arab State of Jordan.
Geographically and ethnically Jordan is Palestine. Historically
both the West and East Banks of the Jordan River are parts of
the land of Israel or Palestine. . The population of Jordan is
composed of two elements - the sedentary population and
nomads. Both are, of course, Palestinian. The nomad Bedouin
constitute a minority of Jordan's population. Moreover, the
majority of the sedentary inhabitants, even of the East Bank, are
of Palestinian West Bank origin. Without the Palestinians, Jordan
is a State without a people. "
What then should be done for the Palestinian Arabs of Sumeria,
Judea and Gaza, who, unlike its counterparts in the Arab sectors
of Jerusalem, reject Israeli citizenship? What can be done when
much of the Arab population in this region has become so
indoctrinated and radicalized by Marxist and Islamist ideas that
some of their members have turned to senseless violence? When
armed and trained militias, supported by international terror
networks and nations, are increasingly carrying out violent
operations specifically targeting innocent Jews? The terrorists are
being funded, supplied, and otherwise assisted by nations who
have openly called for Israel's destruction. This has been proven
most recently by the capture of the Karine-A weapons boat and
the discovery of missiles near Nablus.
The Palestinian Arabs on the west bank of the Jordan are being
used in a well-orchestrated attempt to divide and destroy
Israel/Palestine. As a matter of law, Jordan/ Palestine has a "law
of return" which applies to any Palestinian living on the west bank
who is not a Jew. Many Palestinians on the west bank of the
Jordan are presently Jordanian/Palestinian citizens. Before 1967,
the portion of the west bank in dispute was controlled by Jordan
and was considered at the time to be as intrinsic a part of Jordan
as the east bank.
Therefore, a logical solution to the present conflict would be to
encourage Jordanian citizenship for the Arab population of
Sumeria, Judea, and Gaza. The Palestinian Arabs who choose
such citizenships should be encouraged to vote for local
Palestinian/Jordanian candidates for mayor or local councils who
would then exercise local autonomy under Jordanian jurisdiction
while also under overall Israeli sovereignty. Israel and Jordan
should work jointly to root out the terrorists. Israel and Jordan
should strengthen their economic and political ties with
consideration given to an economic and even a loose political
union as a long-term goal. The Palestinian Arabs on the west
bank of the Jordan would naturally look to Amman as the center
of their political and cultural life while the Palestinian Jews would
look to Jerusalem.
Chuck Morse (www.chuckmorse.com) is a talk show host on
WROL 950 AM in Boston.
Enter Stage Right - http://www.enterstageright.com